Loadouts

[JennerH]

All these nerds talking about the ultimate weapon loadout have forgotten 1 key thing;
Style

Now skipping past all the armor sprite variants, if you want to look pretty the best headware would probably be either a hat, some sort of banana or headset, or none at all. The major downside to looking pretty would be the lack of head protection, no helmet camera, no helmet storage and an obvious weakpoint for xenos to target.
(Word of warning, those with exotic hair color choices are more subject to meta targeting when not wearing a helmet)

Now for functionalities sake, a great gear loadout would be;
>bandage and ointment in armor
>either first aid kit full of injectors and flair pouch or bayonet pouch and mag pouch if you can snag one
>helmet with either 1 m11 throwing knife and a protein bar or 2 protein bars
>satchel filled with ammo
>Machete in belt slot
>webbing filled with extra ammo/gear
>and most importantly, boot knife

Now onto weapons;
I've been a fan of the skele stock, RDS, BC, Masterkey pulse rifle, but a rail light angled grip m37 does work too, and is a good combo with the machete. Personally I'd steer clear from any grenades unless you plan to launch them, as I've seen them and have had them blow up on friendlies and myself many, many times. The default fuse on a frag is too long to get any xenos without cooking and that's risky, slots better spent on spare mags and such.

If you insist on using grenades, please please please use a UGL and handle with care.

[Artemis111]

All these nerds talking about the ultimate weapon loadout have forgotten 1 key thing;
Style

Now skipping past all the armor sprite variants, if you want to look pretty the best headware would probably be either a hat, some sort of banana or headset, or none at all. The major downside to looking pretty would be the lack of head protection, no helmet camera, no helmet storage and an obvious weakpoint for xenos to target.
(Word of warning, those with exotic hair color choices are more subject to meta targeting when not wearing a helmet)

Now for functionalities sake, a great gear loadout would be;
>bandage and ointment in armor
>either first aid kit full of injectors and flair pouch or bayonet pouch and mag pouch if you can snag one
>helmet with either 1 m11 throwing knife and a protein bar or 2 protein bars
>satchel filled with ammo
>Machete in belt slot
>webbing filled with extra ammo/gear
>and most importantly, boot knife

Now onto weapons;
I've been a fan of the skele stock, RDS, BC, Masterkey pulse rifle, but a rail light angled grip m37 does work too, and is a good combo with the machete. Personally I'd steer clear from any grenades unless you plan to launch them, as I've seen them and have had them blow up on friendlies and myself many, many times. The default fuse on a frag is too long to get any xenos without cooking and that's risky, slots better spent on spare mags and such.

If you insist on using grenades, please please please use a UGL and handle with care.

You can put ballistic goggles into the helm to look styleish and have protection

[JennerH]

You can put ballistic goggles into the helm to look styleish and have protection

Pretty much anything that can fit in the helmet will give it a custom, stylish sprite.

Still doesn't let us long haired people flaunt our luscious manes.

[Roaven]

Style wise, the only time I think a helmet is necessary is on Ice Colony. Unless you snag a rebreather, you're stuck with a coif (or a gas mask if you don't want to see), and I'm of the opinion that most headwear looks pretty silly with a coif. At least with a helmet + goggles you get the cool spec-ops/edgy mercenary look.

[Someonewithapen]

How do you put goggles to the helmet, 'cause I can't figure that shit out.

[Sleepy Retard]

How do you put goggles to the helmet, 'cause I can't figure that shit out.

pick up ballistic goggles, click on helmet in your character loadout/other hand

[Someonewithapen]

pick up ballistic goggles, click on helmet in your character loadout/other hand

... Does it only work with the basic helmet, because I've been doing that with the SL helmet?

[Adralimas]

Loudout wise i tend to ask requisitions and get denied usually for an M41AE2 Heavy pulse rifle, Then go for the usual webbing, Railscope and angled grip. Take generally two guns, Shotty with buckshot and M41A with the railscope.
I also almost always leave my armor slots empty or stuffed with easily disposable things cause i battle loot myself a full compliment of attachments and enjoy swapping out the Railscope for an RDS If i happen across one and swap in a BC For an Extended, And stuff em in my armor when i feel like swapping out again.
All in all the most important things to get from requisitons that're harder to get groundside an hour in when people have died are Mag harnesses, Extended barrels and webbings. Though you can generally steal a standard or black/brown webbing planetside. Oh and pouches.

[MattAtlas]

Depends on what I do.

As an SL, I usually take two M41As. One with a rail flash + bayo on the back for door + wall clearing and lights, the other with RDS BFA EB on the back for killing xeno scum. I take 1 SB, 1 OB and the tac binocs in a large gen pouch, take a first aid pouch, an ammo rig and fill it up with 2 AP mags and 3 standard, 2 SBs in the webbing and C4 if the map's big red, ice or prison, or leave it empty. One EAT bar or whatever meal in the armour slot and leave the other slot empty. Boot knife and 2 throwing knives in the helmet for fence clearing.

[Fritigern]

I'm a big proponent of magazine pouches for standard marines. Assuming you're macroing your reloads (which everyone should be), you still have to fumble for the fresh mag. Having the one click magazine on hand (make sure you toggle the drawing method on the pouch) is great in high stress situations when you can't be fumbling with your bag or fighting with lag. Trust me, try it out, it'll make a big difference.

Rail flashlights. Take them, love them, they make you robust as fuck no matter what gun you're using. If you want to be a real big swinging dick robust marine, you want and need to look to take 1v1 fights with tier 1s and 2s (though the 2s are less desirable obviously). Problem is most xenos can engage you from outside your field of vision very easily. You won't even be able to see sentinels or spitters hitting you, and runners and hunters can jump you from beyond your vision range... unless you have a flashlight. Now you have the ability to predict attacks and dodge accordingly. A marine who can't see his enemy can't kill his enemy.

Extended barrel I also consider essential for any standard marine. Yes there is a slight damage trade off, but if you can't hit your target you're doing zero DPS anyways, and you'll be missing a lot of shots without an accuracy boost. The EB turns you into a proper runner and hunter killer.

If you know you're going to be doing FOB duty, or are just planning on playing a very conservative game where you stay alive as long as possible, then an off-role sniper build is very valuable. Most marine games come to an end because marines reach a point where they lack the ability to properly engage boilers, usually because the scout and sniper are dumb and get killed, and they slowly get snuffed out by the gas bombardment. Having a marine with a rail scope who can keep boilers from getting fire superiority can make all the difference. I don't recommend taking a skeleton stock for this role since the skele is another noob trap, but a vertical grip comes in handy. Basically, you're never gonna kill a boiler at range anyways, but you need to be able to hit them to force them to relocate. It's huge.

Veritical grip is always good and worth taking. Angled grip is a noob trap. The reduced wield delay sounds useful, until you realize it doesn't fit on guns that are most hampered by such delays (and you can always just panic 1 hand fire anyways?). Also it provides zero accuracy bonuses, not even small ones which both make no sense and relegate it to a meme attachment.

Masterkey shotgun attachment is ALMOST a noob trap but I love the cool factor of it so much that I give it a pass. They overly nerfed the damage, wield delay and fire rate, but it has some very niche uses, mainly when used to fight runners and hunters, but if I'm being 100% honest you're probably better off with a vertical or standard grenade launcher. But god is it ever fun to blast some ass with it.

Mini-flamer is also a noob trap, would not recommend. Low damage, fire rate, long wield delay and limited access to ammunition.

[Someonewithapen]

If you know you're going to be doing FOB duty, or are just planning on playing a very conservative game where you stay alive as long as possible, then an off-role sniper build is very valuable. Most marine games come to an end because marines reach a point where they lack the ability to properly engage boilers, usually because the scout and sniper are dumb and get killed, and they slowly get snuffed out by the gas bombardment. Having a marine with a rail scope who can keep boilers from getting fire superiority can make all the difference. I don't recommend taking a skeleton stock for this role since the skele is another noob trap, but a vertical grip comes in handy. Basically, you're never gonna kill a boiler at range anyways, but you need to be able to hit them to force them to relocate. It's huge.

I will confirm, if at least one standard, or even the SL, can turn their Pulse Rifle into a DMR that picking at the Boilers in the back can shake up a Xeno offensive on the FoB, especially so if there aren't any other long range weapons in your squad (I.E. The spec is dead/is a pyro). Harassing the Xeno Artillery could cause them either too relocate/retreat entirely, or force the meatier Xenos (Crushers, or even the Queen) to fall back and protect them, hampering the assault on your position.

As for my loadouts, as most people know I tend to swing around two revolvers, but as for a primary weapon.. If I'm a standard I'll take a shotgun, load up a Largo Pistol Mag pouch with buckshot, slap on a Mini Flamer for shits and giggles area denial and just hover around the SL or Pyro Spec. As an Engi or Shipside role, I'll actually stick with the Revolvers with an EB on each, mostly so I can still have one hand free and able for Engineering bullshit.

As for SL, I tend to do the above, make a DMR Pulse Rifle with a Suppressor, Mini-scope, and a Masterkey. I used to fall into the Skele trap, and was silly enough to put a bipod on my rifle once upon a time, until an extended siege showed just how fucking slow the fire rate is. I prefer the Masterkey, mostly for making holes in windows/barricades/resin walls more than actual CQB retaliation, though it still works just as well.
Admittedly, if I'm feeling lucky, I would get greedy at the req line as ask for an EB or RC for my revolvers. Protip, if you're using an attachment that's not as popular, like most barrel attachments, and if you ask nicely, the CT may allow you to go over the 4 attachment limit.

[Tetrino]

My PFC loadout aims for having an answer to most situations.

Helmet: Two protein bars
Armour: Two HEDP grenades
Webbing: Three handfuls of buckshot shells
Suit storage: M37 shotgun, mag harness + angled grip + bayonet
Belt: Ammo rig, five AP/extended/regular M41 mags
Back: M41 rifle, rail flashlight + UGL + suppressor
Pockets: One first-aid pouch, one flare pouch

Engy loadout varies wildly on whether or not I have to share with other engies.

[zoboomafoo]

Put the nades into the UGL and then put m41 ammo into your webbing and armor, then use a shotgun shell rig for shotgun ammo. You still get the 5 mags of the ammo belt but you get twice as many hand fulls of shotgun shells

[Tetrino]

You see Ivan

UGL is already loaded so I have two spare grenades for more FF goodness

Shotgun is fallback weapon and thus not necessary for much ammo

[zoboomafoo]

Who do I talk to to get 4 hedp's as a pfc?

[Avalanchee]

Your advanced PFC by Murray

M41 Pulse rifle with a Reddot, Vertical and EB
Machete on your back
1 FA and 1PK Autoinjector in your M3 Pattern armor
Webbing with one SB, Crowbar, SB Radio.
First aid pouch, Explosive pouch filled with 3 HEDPs in case you get captured.
2 AP mags, 2 Extended Mags 1 Normal mag
Red Headband or a flowepot filled with throwing knives.

[Tetrino]

Who do I talk to to get 4 hedp's as a pfc?

You talk to the RO after establishing yourself as someone who doesn't spam FF nades at FOBs or SD.

[BillyBoBBizWorth]

Long/normal scope or rail flashlight is really all ya need.Or stock standard.

[Gnorse]

I'm going to just copy-paste my loadout from my dossier :

Loadout

Primary : + +
Secondary : + + +
Backup : + + +

[zoboomafoo]

Fun thing I did yesterday was a shotgun with BC mag harness and angled grip with a machete one the back (god bless the CT that gave me this). It was pretty fun gibbing xenos with a barrel charged shotgun, or whacking them to death if they didn't explode and drench poor Lyla in acid.